The Sørlandet Line (Sørlandsbanen)
The Sørlandet Line takes you from Oslo to Stavanger in around 8 hours, through Norway's most summer-like region, often called 'the smiling south' (det blide Sørlandet in Norwegian).
The journey is about 545 kilometers, was completed in 1944, and is now fully electric. From Norway's capital through Telemark's deep valleys, past a traditional silver mining town, and all the way out to Jæren's green and flat fields on the coast.
One of the last stops on the way from Oslo to Stavanger is Bryne station, the town where Manchester City star Erling Braut Haaland grew up playing football.
Written by
The Fjord Tours team
3 min readUpdated: Oct 29, 2026
Quick facts
Sørlandet Line at a glance
- Name: The Sørlandet Line (Sørlandsbanen in Norwegian)
- Route: Oslo–Kristiansand–Stavanger
- Distance: 545 km
- Journey time: 8 hours
- Highest point: near Meheia, 414 meters above sea level
- Operator: Go-Ahead Norway
- Opened: 1944 (final section), first section opened in 1871
Source: Store norske leksikon / The Norwegian Railway Directorate.
History
The Sørlandet Line has a somewhat unusual history for a Norwegian railway line. It was not built continuously; instead, it was made up of several separate lines. The full railway took more than 70 years to build, from when ground was first broken in 1871 until the last section between Kristiansand and Stavanger was completed in 1944.
The route and highlights
From Oslo, the train first goes to Kongsberg, an old mining town that was once one of Norway's richest cities, thanks to the silver discovered there in the 1600s. The silver works made Kongsberg one of the country's largest cities at the time, and the streets still echo with its rich history. If you have an hour to spare, the Lågdal Museum is just a short walk from the station and has fascinating exhibitions on both mining and local history.
The route then continues into Telemark through forests and farms to the inland areas of Agder. Between Kristiansand and Egersund, the train passes through some of Norway's longest railway tunnels, including the Kvineshei tunnel, which is over 9 kilometers long. In total, this stretch alone has 72 tunnels, a reminder of how hilly the terrain in inner Agder really is.
At Egersund, the line meets the coast, and the landscape changes abruptly from inland forest to Jæren's flat, green fields and dunes all the way to Stavanger. Jæren is home to some of Norway's best farmland, with a landscape more reminiscent of Denmark’s flat fields than the steep, mountainous Western Norway you find further north.
During the final stretch towards Stavanger, the train runs almost at the edge of the sea, with the North Sea visible to the west.
How to travel on the Sørlandet Line
The Sørlandet Line has several daily departures between Oslo and Stavanger, plus a night train for those who want to sleep through their journey. If you want your own sleeping compartment on the night train, book early, as they sell out quickly, especially in the summer.
If you are traveling during the day, you can make many excellent stops along the way, such as spending a few hours exploring Kongsberg or Kristiansand, rather than covering the entire distance in one stretch. If you’re planning a longer journey in Norway, have a look at our tours, including the Sørlandet Line.
Tours including the Sørlandet Line
These tours connect Oslo and Stavanger via the Sørlandet Line.
Questions about the Sørlandet Line
Get answers to commonly asked questions about the train journey from Oslo to Stavanger.
Discover all of Norway’s railways
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In this guide, we cover the route, stops, the best side to sit on, how to get there, and when the trip is at its best.
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The stretch is one of Norway's wildest and most photographed train journeys, and is known far beyond Norway's borders, thanks to Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. It was also on this track that 50 tons of Norwegian gold were transported to avoid it falling into wrong hands during World War II.
In this guide, we will tell you all about the route, the most famous destinations, and how to travel, including the Golden Train as a separate optional experience.
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Take a seat in Oslo and get off in Trondheim, with the whole of southern Norway behind you. See a diverse range of landscapes. From Lake Mjøsa's shimmering water, the Gudbrandsdalen valley's traditional farms, and the mighty Dovrefjell mountains with musk oxen and reindeer.
The Røros Railway
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The Sørlandet Line (Sørlandsbanen)
The Sørlandet Line takes you from Oslo to Stavanger in around 8 hours, through Norway's most summer-like region, often called 'the smiling south' (det blide Sørlandet in Norwegian).
The journey is about 545 kilometers, was completed in 1944, and is now fully electric. From Norway's capital through Telemark's deep valleys, past a traditional silver mining town, and all the way out to Jæren's green and flat fields on the coast.
One of the last stops on the way from Oslo to Stavanger is Bryne station, the town where Manchester City star Erling Braut Haaland grew up playing football.
The Nordland Railway
The Nordland Railway (Nordlandsbanen) takes you from Trondheim to Bodø in 10 hours. The 729-kilometer line crosses the Arctic Circle on the Saltfjellet mountain plateau. The landscape gradually changes along the route, from fjord villages in the south to the Helgeland coast and mountains further north.
It’s one of the few railways in the world that crosses the Arctic Circle. With the midnight sun or the northern lights.
The Bergen Railway: Oslo to Bergen by train
The Bergen Railway (Bergensbanen) runs between Norway’s 2 largest cities, and for many people it’s the Norwegian train journey. In 7 hours, you go from the forests around Oslo up to the Hardangervidda mountain plateau and on to the West Coast and Bergen.
The Flåm Railway
The Flåm Railway takes you from a bare mountain station at Myrdal, 867 meters up, down to the fjord village of Flåm in under 1 hour. In between: 20 tunnels, a waterfall, and farms clinging to slopes. It’s one of the steepest railways in the world with normal passenger service, and it opened in 1940.
In this guide, we cover the route, stops, the best side to sit on, how to get there, and when the trip is at its best.
The Rauma Railway
The Rauma Railway (Raumabanen) runs 114.2 kilometers from Dombås to Åndalsnes in about 1 hour and 40 minutes, past the steep Trollveggen mountain wall and Kylling Bridge.
The stretch is one of Norway's wildest and most photographed train journeys, and is known far beyond Norway's borders, thanks to Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. It was also on this track that 50 tons of Norwegian gold were transported to avoid it falling into wrong hands during World War II.
In this guide, we will tell you all about the route, the most famous destinations, and how to travel, including the Golden Train as a separate optional experience.
The Dovre Railway
The Dovre Railway runs 548 kilometers from Oslo to Trondheim, over the Dovrefjell mountains and through the Gudbrandsdalen valley. The trip takes about 6.5 to 7 hours.
Take a seat in Oslo and get off in Trondheim, with the whole of southern Norway behind you. See a diverse range of landscapes. From Lake Mjøsa's shimmering water, the Gudbrandsdalen valley's traditional farms, and the mighty Dovrefjell mountains with musk oxen and reindeer.
The Røros Railway
The Røros Railway runs between Hamar and Trondheim, through Østerdalen and past Røros, a journey of about 431 kilometers that takes around 6 hours. The line opened in 1877 and is Norway's oldest inter-regional railway line, and it takes you where no other train does: through the wilderness of Østerdalen to the mining town of Røros, with its beautiful wooden buildings.
The Sørlandet Line (Sørlandsbanen)
The Sørlandet Line takes you from Oslo to Stavanger in around 8 hours, through Norway's most summer-like region, often called 'the smiling south' (det blide Sørlandet in Norwegian).
The journey is about 545 kilometers, was completed in 1944, and is now fully electric. From Norway's capital through Telemark's deep valleys, past a traditional silver mining town, and all the way out to Jæren's green and flat fields on the coast.
One of the last stops on the way from Oslo to Stavanger is Bryne station, the town where Manchester City star Erling Braut Haaland grew up playing football.
The Nordland Railway
The Nordland Railway (Nordlandsbanen) takes you from Trondheim to Bodø in 10 hours. The 729-kilometer line crosses the Arctic Circle on the Saltfjellet mountain plateau. The landscape gradually changes along the route, from fjord villages in the south to the Helgeland coast and mountains further north.
It’s one of the few railways in the world that crosses the Arctic Circle. With the midnight sun or the northern lights.